Vacuum cleaner



R. E. DUNBAR VACUUM CLEANER Filed April 50, 1940 Aug. 17, 1943. 2,327,181

Inventor: Ralph E.Dunbar-,.

b9 6. JMZM 1S Attorney.

seated on Patented Aug. 17, 1943 T 7 iv 2,327,181

I 2,327,181 wtoiiUM CLEA ER Diinliaf', East Cleveland, Ohio, assignor -66" "Electric Vacuum Cleaner Company; Inez,"

Cleveland-,1 Ohio, ELICOIpOIatiOII of N ew York Appiiestiefiixprit 3'0, 1940;'seria 1 Ne. 332,512 I 8 Claims; (C1: 183

M messes fishes 5a a; ee device 1' s Hi vacuun'rcleaners of he typ virig the suemdfi producing and d rtcol lectmg pieeiis" arranged within a casing which connected b5? Ih'earis. 6f a hose to a suction nozzle inovabl ev erthe stir: face being cleaned. V p I I p This type Qr ee rh eieane'risjefteeiused to pick wet su'qs r m car ets, floors. e the like which hav'eibeenclean'ed l'j'ya s efclean'sing agent such seep 1rd water; Wheii'su'ch is the ease, wet suds and dirt are; picked up and earried' through. siietien no'zzleand hose and deposited within thefeIaneii, Th 5 ma erial builds up in the cleiner a frothy iij eie the foam rises much above the level of the media. It has been found that undr ce'rtairi edfidit'idns' the foa'in rises s'o hight it is drawn lIltO the suction fan andth connected drive meter, ceasing serious damage. V p

it is an ob ect at intention toifiioviae im roved con truction 1' vacuum cleaners er this type embodying a s iety de'vice for'aiitomatically stopping the suction action oftH machine at the intake when the foam t6 a point wherelit may canse da'inag p I v It is a rurthe b'ject of invention to o; vide a safetyd eei or the c'h teeter described that will be simple,"dependable operation, and cheaptonia' nufactur.

Further objects and as ess-f my} seen 2 tion will peeme'e eareht as the followiiig' e: scription proceeds, andl the. features "of novelty 'which characterize myinigeiition' will be pe tea ems forminga perter'th s s eeinee tidrs In the accompanying drawing, Fig". 1 is an eievation View, partly in section, 'ofjfi veeuumeeene er embodying my invention. Fi'ggflis an en- Iarg ed fragmentary'viw in section of'the safety device.

out with particularity in the dams arifiex ed'to the casing in is a motor fan unit'co'inprisihe a The motor fan unit is supiibrt'ed froth the inner edge of a rubber ring lflathefouteredge of WhiChviS fixed to. the under side of a ch ver l4 e; gasket I en the u pe'ree-geef-the casing. e

norrnal" operation an air stream carrying sudsand'dirt is drewn throhgh a'nojzz'l'e and hose Referring to the drawing; thereis shown a Vate"- 'uurncleaner having a Vertical casing or recep- [table 59 mounted o'h o'aste'rs H; At' the 13615 of (not shown) into the casin gthtoiig h inlet mesa deflected toward the team of-the casingby'a defiector Air is their drawn upwardly through a ee'mpex path conip'risiiig a series 'of passages and bvfils ta-b ful thef described, through'the suction fan, and is finally di'seharg'ed fromthe outlet ll;

Depending from thetop of the casing is a pan [9} the diameter of "which is less than that er the casing so as to provide a space therbetviieen. The bad l9.is"sli15port edby a flange F; sifiiqunded by' the gasket [5' and resting. e11 theu'pp'er ed e of the. casing. .The Vertical wan 20 or the per; rs has a hole at 2L whichw'ith the connected elbew 2 2 and the tube 23 forms a passageway for the outgoing air?" drawn out of the casing', by the? suction fan. The tutezs extends verticallylpart Way into a cylindrical member 24' the inner diameter of which" is somewhat. larger than the outer diairieter' er the tube is so as to pr vide an air passageway 25. The cylir'idiical member 24 has a, portion 26 extrtldifig ili wardl'y thiiQU'gh a hole in the cover member [4, the member 24 i being secured to the cover by any suitable means such as a fas'ter'iifrg shrew 127. The rubbiflring Ma serves as a gasket for the joint between the cover and the member 24. The upper'end 6f the member 24 is normally closed by a vacuum-seeiing diaphragm 29 held in place] by ev nut, at screwed to member 24. Any other type of readil y detachable eiiiiii ifieall'is lhajl be Used to hold the diaphragm to the member 24'. The purpose of the diaphragm will be described below.

An annular bailie3i surreunas hesue en fan l3 and is supported by the pan I9 being located in nested relation therewith. The name 3f forms a series of air passages with the pee lfi'andthe .suction fan casing 32 so the air in passing fi'o'ih the casing ill to theoiitlet I! must follow atortiious path thereby decreasing the possiliility of foreign material cemi'ng incoiita'ctwith' the stiction fair and the drive motor. V

' As indicated by the arrows on the drawing, air

passes upwardly from the casing ll] throughotne V elbow 22 and the pipe 23 frond whehceit is forced to makea reverse turn downwardly thidiighthe vpassage 25. Theair then passes "arouhd the bane such a high level that it commences to be drawn through the serially connectedair passages to the suction fan, it is desirable that this action beautomatically stopped at once to prevent. damage. 7

To accomplish this the iracuum sealing' diaphrae-m 29 isformed of a material, such as paper toweling, whichduring normal operation of the clea'nerwvill'be substantial-1y impervious to the passage of air and strong enough to Withstand the force causedb-y the difference in (air pressure existing in the opposite sides thereof; but which when wet will-rupture randpdestr oy the vacuum th'e'casingzl 8 caused by the suctionian; Thus,

when the foam or suds rises and passes upwardupward flow of air and foam from the casing ll! through the pipe 23. 1

To assist in the above described action ofmy safety device, it is to be noted that I have provided a construction such that when the air pass-. es upwardly through the pipe 23 it must make a sharp reverse turn to pass in a downward direction. By virtue of this construction any foam or suds entrained in the air are hurled against the diaphragm 29"'to"1nore rapidly wet it and cause rupture thereof. It will be understood, however, that this particular construction is not essential to the operation of my invention/ When the diaphragm 29 ruptures during operation of the machine the suction in the pickup nozzle immediately stops and the operator must empty the machine of collected material before further use. After the machine has been emptied, the ruptured diaphragm is removed by imscrewing the nut 3G and is replaced by a new one, this operation being very easily and quickly performed and the machine is again ready for use.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a safety device which is positive in operation, inexpensive and simple to manufacture, and which will act to effectively protect a vacuum cleaning machine being used to pick up wet material either of the liquid type or of a type having a tendency to froth and foam in the machine.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a vacuum cleaner, a receptacle provided with an aperture normally closed by a vacuum sealing diaphragm, an inlet communicating with said receptacle, suction producing means connected to said receptacle to maintain a vacuum therein for causing material to be collected to flow through said inlet into said receptacle, said vacuum sealing diaphragm being formed of material adapted to rupture and destroy said'vacuum when wetted by the material collected in said receptacle. i

2. In a vacuum cleaner, a receptacle, an inlet communicating with said receptacle, suction producing means to maintain normally a vacuum in said receptacle for causing material to be collected to flow through said inlet into said receptacle, a passageway connecting said suction producing means and said receptacle, said passageway being provided with an'opening' communicating with the exterior of said receptacle, a

when wetted vacuum sealing diaphragm normally closing said opening, said diaphragm being formed of a material adapted to rupture and break said vacuum by liquid withdrawn from said receptacle 3. In a vacuum cleaner, a receptacle provided with an inlet and an aperture normally closed by a vacuum sealing'diaphragm formed of material adapted to loseits strength on becoming \vetted, suctionproducing means for'maintaining a vouum in said receptacle to cause a flow of material to be collected through said inlet into said receptacle, a passageway with a sharp bend connecting the interior of said receptacle to said suction producing means, 'a' portion of said pas- V foamy material, a receptacle provided with an aperture in the upper portion thereof, said apserture being normally closed by a vacuum sealing-diaphragm, an inlet communicating with said receptacle, suction producing means connected to said receptacle to maintain a vacuum therein for causing the material to be collected to flow through said inlet into the lower portion of said receptacle, said vacuum sealing diaphragm being formed of material adapted to rupture and break'said vacuum when-wetted by foam collected in said receptacle.

'5. In a vacuum cleaner for collecting a wet foamy material, a receptacle, an inlet for said receptacle, suction production means for normally causing material to be collected to flow through said inlet into said receptacle, a passageway connecting said suction producing means to said receptacle, a bypass connecting said passageway with the exterior of said receptacle, a diaphragm adjacent said passageway normally closing said bypass, said diaphragm being formed of material adapted to rupture and open said bypass upon becoming wetted by the passage of foam through said passageway whereby said suction producing means is rendered ineffective to cause the flow of material through said inlet.

6. In a vacuum cleaner for collecting a wet foamy material, a receptacle provided with an inlet and an aperture normally closedby a vacuum sealing diaphragm formed of material adpated to lose its strength on becoming wetted, suction producing means for'maintaining a vacuum in said receptacle to cause a flow of material to be collected through said inlet into said receptacle, a passageway with a sharp bend connecting the interior of said receptacle to said suction producing means, a portion of said pasits strength upon being wetted for rendering the cleaner ineffective to cause fiow of material through said inlet upon flow of liquid through said passage.

8. In a vacuum cleaner for collecting foamy liquid material, a receptacle, an inlet to said receptacle for. said material, a motor suction fan unit for withdrawing air from the receptacle, a

passage leading from above the normal level of foam in said receptacle to the fan unit, and means including a replaceable member arranged to be distorted when wetted by foam flowing through said passage for indicating the occurrence of said flow to the operator.

RALPH E. DUNBAR. 

